


An Early Start

by Twice_before_Friday



Series: October? No, I think you mean Whumptober [17]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Secrets, Threats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27061543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twice_before_Friday/pseuds/Twice_before_Friday
Summary: Prompt No 17. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMINGBlackmail |Dirty Secret|Wrongfully AccusedMalcolm knows it's going to be difficult when he names Officer Stevenson as a suspect in their case, but he never expected things would turn out the way they do.
Series: October? No, I think you mean Whumptober [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947595
Comments: 16
Kudos: 57
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	An Early Start

Malcolm knows it's going to be difficult when he names Officer Stevenson as a suspect in their case, but he never expected things would turn out the way they do.

When Malcolm first suggests an NYPD officer is involved in a string of art heists, the team regards him wearily, not wanting to believe that one of their own could be involved in something illegal. But knowing Bright as they do, they go along with his theory.

When Malcolm discovers enough circumstantial evidence to point to one specific person — Officer Stevenson — a full on investigation is launched into the man. 

Which means, of course, the entire precinct finds out about it.

While most of the cops at the station are displeased about the news, they understand the need to investigate, and some are even helpful in trying to root out a dirty cop amongst them.

But there are a few — Officer Stevenson's buddies — who don't take kindly to the accusation of their friend and fellow officer, and who blame Malcolm for the whole thing. 

So when one of the officers passes him alone in the hallway one day, Malcolm isn't actually surprised when the man 'accidentally' walks into him (it's more of a body check worthy of a Stanley Cup playoff game, if Malcolm is honest with himself), shoving him into a tower of boxes full of case files. Malcolm is barely able to keep himself from falling all the way to the floor at the sudden impact, using the boxes to steady himself halfway down.

"Sorry, Mr. Bright," the man sneers as he looks down on Malcolm, walking away as he adds, "Didn't see you there. Have a good day now."

Malcolm merely straightens up and brushes his hands over his suit to ease out any creases, then continues his journey to the conference room.

If his hand shakes a little more than usual, the team is kind enough to leave it unremarked upon.

Things carry on like that for several days. Any time he encounters any of the four officers that Stevenson was tight with, there's a shove or some jeering, maybe a handful of muttered threats to cap things off. It's nothing Malcolm can't handle or isn't expecting, though, so he keeps the incidents to himself and carries on with the case, searching for hard evidence to back up his claim.

Things change a few days into the investigation. Malcolm is alone in the men's room when another of Stevenson's buddies walks in and before the door has a chance to swing shut behind him, Malcolm is able to see the bulk of another man standing guard on the other side of the door. His heart starts to beat a little faster, but Malcolm continues to wash his hands at the sink like nothing is amiss, hoping that his instincts are wrong.

They aren't.

"We need to talk, Mr. Bright," Officer Parker says, and Malcolm can hear the disgust and anger in his voice as he spits out his name. "You can't just go around wrongfully accusing people of crimes. We're a family here. Brothers. And we don't take kindly to outsiders coming into our home and stirring shit up."

Officer Parker is standing uncomfortably close to Malcolm. It goes beyond an invasion of personal space; it's a threat, pure and simple. Malcolm takes a deep breath and looks up at the man.

"Look, I'm not trying to stir anything up. I'm merely following where the evidence leads. If Officer Stevenson is innocent, as you seem to believe, then the evidence will clear him."

Malcolm attempts to sidestep around the man, planning to remove himself from the situation, but between one breath and the next he finds himself shoved up against the wall with Officer Parker's forearm barred against his throat.

"Your _evidence_ ," Parker hisses, "is just an interpretation of events. And you're interpreting wrong. So here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna go back in that room and convince the Lieutenant that you made a mistake. And if you need to 'lose' any of the evidence in order to do that, then that's what you'll do. Understand?"

Parker isn't pushing hard enough against his throat to cut off his air, not completely, but the threat is clear. Malcolm nods his understanding and Parker gives a quick nudge with his arm before letting go and backing off.

"Glad we could have this talk," Parker says as he opens the door and walks away.

Malcolm waits until the door closes behind him, leaving him once again alone in the bathroom, before he brings his hand up to his throat and massages the area lightly, grimacing at just how tender it is. When he pulls his hand away he notices just how bad it's shaking.

This isn't something he can just ignore anymore.

So he straightens his tie and takes a moment to inhale deeply and exhale slowly, and then heads to the conference room.

He needs to talk to Gil.

The rest of the day is spent with the team in the conference room, with the doors and blinds closed so no one can hear what's happening inside. At the end of what seems like a very long day, he gratefully accepts a ride home when Gil offers. 

He's strung too tight to sleep, so he spends the night pacing the loft, running through a few yoga routines, reading about a new neuroimaging study on dissociative symptoms that appears to reveal wounds of childhood trauma, and eventually just showers and heads to the precinct. 

It's early. Far too early for the rest of the team to be there, but he figures he can get a good start on the next steps of the investigation.

Unfortunately Parker and his pals seemed to have the same idea. Malcolm walks in and finds the four officers in the conference room, searching through the case files, pulling out and shredding papers as they go. He tries to turn and leave as soon as he realizes what's happening but it's too late. They catch sight of him and before he knows it, he's being dragged into the room, the door slammed shut behind him.

"Thought I told you to call this off, Bright?" Parker says and the anger on his face tells Malcolm that he's onto something much bigger than just Stevenson's art heist. Malcolm suddenly makes the connection about a number of things that haven't been adding up lately; evidence going missing, suspects being tipped off, a spike in crimes that require inside access, even a witness that disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

He also realizes this isn't going to stop at intimidation tactics and casual violence. These men will do whatever it takes to cover their asses, and if making a NYPD consultant disappear is what it takes, then he doesn't stand a chance.

"I think it's time we go for a walk, Profiler."

Malcolm has a feeling this walk is going to end with a bullet in his head and his body in the river, but the gun being jammed into his ribs doesn't leave him with a lot of options. 

Fortunately, he doesn't seem to be the only one that decided to get an early start on the investigation. As he walks out of the conference room with the four men behind him, he's met with the sight of Gil, Dani and JT walking towards them.

Gil has always been able to read Malcolm's expressions and now is no different. The fear must be clearly etched on his face, because Gil drops his coffee to the ground with a crash and draws his gun, JT and Dani following suit immediately, albeit with a hint of confusion on both of their faces.

Which is how Malcolm finds himself in the middle of a standoff, trapped between seven guns that are all aimed either at or through him.

"Okay, everyone just take a breath, here," Gil says in the sudden silence that fills the room.

Malcolm gives Gil a look, hoping to convey that he has a plan, and the slight tilt of the Lieutenant's head and the subtle arch of his eyebrow tells Malcolm that he doesn't like it but he'll go along with it.

For now.

"Stevenson's already flipped on you," Malcolm bluffs, raising his hands to shoulder height and turning slowly to face Parker. "The entire investigation into the art heist was just to buy us enough time to bring down your operation. Stevenson's already confessed to stealing and contaminating evidence, alerting suspects to impending raids, even the murder of Tasha Owens."

He's pushing it on that last one. He doesn’t know for sure that the missing witness in the drug smuggling case was killed — they could have just paid her off to disappear — but the lengths to which they're going right now suggests that they're covering for something far more serious than extortion and theft.

"Your dirty secret is already out," Malcolm presses on, hoping to make them realize the best way to end this is to surrender, "and shooting your way out of a police precinct is not going to buy you any good will with the jury. If you surrender now, we can put in a good word with the DA. You know she's going to want to cover this up as best she can, anyways. But if you start shooting, this becomes national news in an instant and she's going to have to make an example of you all."

Parker is the last to lower his gun, and Malcolm can tell he's still debating on shooting him as Gil, Dani, and JT move forward and cuff the four disgraced officers.

"Wanna fill me in on what exactly I'm arresting these guys for?" Gil says quietly as Dani and JT lead the men down to booking.

Malcolm plops himself down on the edge of the nearest desk as the adrenaline in his body begins to fade, leaving him shaky and a little nauseated. 

"Yeah. It's, uh, it's a long story," he says, rubbing his hands over his face and leaning into the touch as Gil gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He looks down to the mess of coffee and shattered glass on the floor and adds, "You're going to want to get a new cup of coffee first."

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to Kate on this one for giving me a plot to use when this prompt left me floundering. You're the best ❤


End file.
